One of the most popular recipes on Our Best Bites is this flour frosting. Its velvety smooth texture combined with the not-so-sugary bite is perhaps the perfect thing on top of almost any cake or cupcake. If you read through the comments you’ll see that one of the most commonly asked questions is “Where’s the chocolate version??!!” Kate and I experimented a lot with adding chocolate to that recipe without much luck. We came up with a lot of things that tasted amazing, but there were always slight problems with the consistency. I knew I had seen similar recipes in chocolate before but I couldn’t seem to find one until one of you dear readers pointed me to a recipe on Sugar Plum. Sure enough, it was just what I was in search of! I adapted the recipe slightly by using plain ol’ salted butter and omitting added salt. And then I added extra chocolate to get a richer color and flavor. Everyone needs a “go-to” chocolate frosting and this is now mine!The recipe starts by cooking flour, milk, sugar, and cocoa powder in a sauce pan until it thickens, much like the first step in the beloved white frosting.
You’ll strain the mixture so you don’t end up with icky flour lumps in your frosting, because who wants icky flour lumps in their frosting??
While that mixture is cooling off, melt some chocolate chips in the microwave. I found this to be the key to having the frosting remain stable- the melted chocolate seems to bind it.
Then we whip real butter with our chilled chocolate mixture until it’s light and fluffy,
like so. At this point it’s much like the results of just adding cocoa powder to the white frosting.
But the secret is adding in the melted chocolate. Isn’t chocolate always the secret??
Whip that up and then give it a taste. If you want a richer chocolate flavor just add more cocoa powder. I added about 4 Tablespoons extra to get my frosting looking and tasting like this (I also found the color of the frosting darkened as it sat):
It pipes beautifully, and tastes amazing! And just WAIT until I show you what I put it on- that post is coming up Friday- and trust me, you’ll go bananas! (hee hee)
Chocolate Frosting
Recipe slightly adapted by Our Best Bites from Sugar Plum
2/3 cup granulated sugar
1/3 cup all-purpose flour
3 tablespoons unsweetened cocoa powder
1 cup milk
1 cup real butter, softened
1 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips, melted
Optional: Additional cocoa powder as needed
Melt your chocolate chips if you haven’t already and set aside to cool. You obviously don’t want it so cool that it hardens, but you can get it close to room temperature and still have it be soft and stir-able.
In a small saucepan, whisk together sugar, flour, cocoa, and milk; bring to a boil, whisking frequently. Boil 1-3 minutes or until thickened like a thinned pudding. Remove pan from heat and strain mixture into a small bowl. Cool completely in the refrigerator or freezer.
When chocolate flour mixture is cooled, beat the butter until creamy, about 1 minute. Beat in the cooled chocolate mixture until well combined fluffy, about 1 minute. Finally add in melted chocolate and beat again until well combined and fluffy, about 2 minutes. If desired, add additional cocoa powder to taste, up to 4 tablespoons more. Spread or pipe frosting on to cupcakes or cake.
Makes enough to frost 24 cupcakes.
Storage: Store unused frosting in fridge and bring to room temperature before using again. If needed, beat with an electric beater before using.
Questions & Reviews
I have to comment on this…this frosting is seriously the BEST frosting I’ve ever had!!! It is also a hit with my entire extended family. My husband, who does NOT like frosting, especially chocolate, LOVES this frosting!
Thanks so much ladies, you came through again!! The white version of this is also delicious!
When I made this it was hot in my kitchen and it wasn’t coming out very fluffy, so I popped it in the fridge and waited patiently, whipped it again and ta-da!! BEST FROSTING EVER!!!
Very very yummy! I had a ton left over, so I popped in in the freezer. I’ll report back when I know if it froze well.
I put the milk and flour in the blender before I cooked it. No lumps, no straining. Hooray!!!
I made this with a couple of alterations (used dark choc. cocoa powder and a combo of milk and PB chips) and it was soooo good! Not as stiff as it appears in the photos here, but I did stick it in the fridge and it was good to go. The taste/texture/meltiness of it reminds me of the centers of Lindt truffles, which I LOVE. Thank you for a new frosting recipe to add to my book!
I’m not really a “semi-sweet chocolate” fan. Have you ever tried it with milk chocolate? Does that make it too sweet?
Never tried it Angela, but you have to remember- you’re using semi sweet chocolate AND adding it to sugar. So it’s not “semi-sweet” flavored. Does that make sense? I personally think milk would be way too sweet, but you might like it 🙂
This frosting is awesome! I have made it several times and love it but today I made it for my husbands birthday cake and made some changes that worked really well so I though I would share them with you. My husbands favorite cake is an ice cream cake and I have found that most frostings when frozen turn too hard and leave a fatty film in your mouth. I know it is the resolidifing of the butter so here is what I did; when cooking the chocolate flour mixture I let it cook a little longer than recommended till the consistency was a bit thicker, more like a custard. It took a bit longer to get through the mesh strainer, I actually used a rubber spatula and just pushed it through. Now here is the best part, I only used half the amount of butter! It still whipped up with a nice fluffy consistency and tasted great. I almost dont feel guilty that I ate more of his cake than he did. Thanks again for all your great recipes.
This is, hands down, THE BEST FROSTING I have EVER had.
The second best is the white version.
For a bridal shower, I made cupcakes using your easy white cake recipe (and the chocolate version) with these frostings. Everyone LOVED them… I think everybody had at least two!
And I just got your cookbook. I’m obsessed with this blog. 🙂
I just made this frosting and it is seriously the best frosting I have ever eaten! I love your blog!!! I just found it about a week ago and have already tried 5 of the recipes. I love that you use real ingredients and that everything tastes so yummy! Thank you so much!
Is there a peanut butter version? The pb frosting recipe I have is way too sweet and overpowers the pb flavor, and I LOVE the white/vanilla version of this and the chocolate one is a really good too, Not so overpowering as the powdered sugar frostings.
hey i tried a frostin like ths toda bt wtout th chocolat n t curdld? wat do u thnk wnt wrong
Great recipe! I whisked the flour, sugar, and cocoa together really well before add the milk and boiling and didn't have any lumps that needed straining… worked for me anyway!
Robin, the only thing I can think of is if your chocolate-flour mixture wasn't cooled enough. Other than that- no idea, weird!
Just made some from-scratch funfetti cupcakes and was looking for a good frosting recipe – this was PERFECT!!! since the cupcakes were a bit on the sweeter side, i dialed down the sugar which came out with a great bittersweet chocolately flavor that totally complements my cupcakes. THANK YOU SO MUCH! 🙂 def my new favorite frosting recipe. delicious!
I tried this in a pinch yesterday for a Christmas party… and the frosting came out like pudding! I don't know what in the world I did wrong. I ended up making a Trifle Bowl concoction with it.
Any ideas?
that's great to know- thanks BreeAnne!
I didn't realize there were two separate recipes for chocolate and white until *after* I started cooking the flour and milk together on the other recipe, at which point I ran back to my computer to see what I needed to add for chocolate and Oh NO! It's an entirely different process!
I was making a double batch of the vanilla, so after reading this version I went ahead and made the vanilla as directed on the original. When it was finished, I added one cup of cooled, melted chocolate chips and 4 tablespoons cocoa powder. It came out perfect and tasted fabulous! Just thought you might want to know, since it seems much quicker than having to sift cocoa powder and cook it with the flour.
pearse- the vanilla frosting we use is linked in this post
do you have a vanilla buttercream for frosting cakes
This is a keeper.
The delicate chocolate flavor is superb and not overpowered by sugar. The silky texture is awesome; it melts in your mouth like a no other frosting I've ever made. While it does have a consistency that will accomplish simple piped borders and cupcake swirls, the finished product is not sturdy enough for much more. I believe I would dam layers with regular butter cream if I were to use this frosting for a filling. Still, I believe it's going to be my go-to chocolate frosting from this point on.
I'd like to share a couple things I did to make the process easier for me.
1. I sifted the all-purpose flour, granulated sugar, and powdered cocoa together several times until it was well combined, and no "chunks" of anything remained. Then, I set this mixture aside.
2. I cooked the ( whole ) milk and sifted ingredients in a large frying pan, over a medium-high heat, and used a large whisk to constantly incorporate and scrape the sides and corners of the frying pan.
3. The ( whole ) milk was warm before adding the sifted ingredients in three 1/3 cup increments. Then, I cooked the mixture on medium-low – removing it from the heat several times to check consistency – until it reached the "loose pudding" stage. I did not allow the mixture to "boil" as noted in the directions.
The results of the changes noted above produced a completely flawless mixture without lumps. Thus, I had no need to strain the cooked mixture.
Additionally, the cooked ingredients would not "pour" when it had cooled. So, I had to spoon the mixture into the creamed butter.
From this point on, I followed the directions given, and was delightfully surprised by the results.
This is definitely a keeper!
The other day I made the candy corn cupcakes and learned how to do the frosting good. We had a BBQ tonight, and I decided to try just store-mix cupcakes with this chocolate frosting. I was told that they were the BEST cupcakes they had ever eaten. I took the advice and automatically added the extra 4 TBS cocoa. The frosting came out perfectly! Thanks!
Mary Jane- yes it works great on cake! I actually used it on the monkey cake we have on the site and it holds up really well. Are you frosting the cake tonight or just making the frosting? If you're frosting the cake, you can just keep it at room temp. If you're wanting to store the frosting you can refrigerate it. Tomorrow you'll need to let it come to room temp on its own and then beat it again to fluff it up. Should work great!
I am planning to try this frosting this evening for my son's 22 birthday tomorrow. It looks perfect for cupcake, but not many comment for using it on a double layer cake, does it hold up between the two layers. And how should I store it when I am finished tonight, airtight or refrigerator??
Thank you so much. I ask myself, "what did we do before the internet."
leemz- it will definitely last a few days in the fridge. Beyond that, I couldn't tell ya because it's never lasted that long at my house!
I was looking for a frosting that didn't have too much icing sugar and stumbled upon your blog. I made it today for my butter cake and boy it's delicious. I plan to make it often now. But one thing i need to know is that for how long can I refrigerate it?
please do lemme know
thanks in advance,
leemz
I was looking for a frosting that didn't have too much icing sugar and stumbled upon your blog. I made it today for my butter cake and boy it's delicious. I plan to make it often now. But one thing i need to know is that for how long can I refrigerate it?
my website is http://thechefinme.com, will post this cake asap, God willing!
please do lemme know
thanks in advance,
leemz
Lisa, just make sure you add the chocolate *very* slowly, a little at a time, and while the mixer is running. That way it doesn't give it time to cool into any clumps.
Hi, I've made this twice now. Both times delicious, however the second time I had trouble piping as the tip kept getting clogged with little lumps of chocolate. The chocolate had been melted thoroughly and allowed to cool at room temperature for about 30minutes. its as though when I poured it in the flour and butter mixture was too cooled and may have set some of the melted chocolate. Any ideas?
I've made the flour frosting a number of times now and get rave reviews. My good friend begged me to make chocolate cupcakes for a special day tomorrow so I tried the chocolate frosting and it is too liquidy/soft to pipe. I'm putting it in the fridge hoping it will stiffen up. It tastes great! My oldest already snuck a bit to put on his graham cracker so if it doesn't stiffen up, I guess my kids will have it for a snack this next week on their crackers and will be very happy!
megumi- if the end product is too soft then it's most likely that your butter is too soft. It should be a little colder than room temp. I wouldn't add more flour, if you need it to firm up the best way is to put the finished product in the fridge until it's stiffened up. I'm glad you like it!
I'm so glad to have found your blog and a confectioner sugar free icing (can't stand the grittiness). I have a few questions for you! 1. I've made this twice now and both times it's actually quite liquid-y. Almost too soft to pipe. The butter I have here is very soft so that may be it. The second time I did it, I chilled the pudding mixture in the fridge until it was cold and that made my butter firm up – like I think another commenter experienced. Thinking about SMBC I figured making butter cold = bad so I microwaved the mixture to make it room temp. I was wondering if making the "pudding" a little thicker with more flour would help it hold better? What do you think? Mine doesn't look as fluffy or stiff like yours does in picture #5. I don't know if it's the wimpy hand-mixer I'm using. THANK YOU!